Tewksbury to vote on $88M budget

By Katie Lannan, klannan@lowellsun.com

Updated:
04/30/2013 06:35:56 AM EDT

TEWKSBURY -- A proposed bylaw change would prohibit any registered sex offenders from living or loitering within 1,000 feet of schools, day-care centers or recreational facilities in town, or facilities that house elderly or mentally handicapped residents.

The bylaw amendment is one of 40 articles residents will be asked to decide on at Monday's annual Town Meeting.

On Wednesday, May 8, Special Town Meeting will take up a six-item warrant, including the construction of a new athletic field at Tewksbury Memorial High School, the latest attempt to fund a project that's hit several roadblocks in the past.

The most recent proposal breaks the project down into two articles -- one for the construction of a field and another for an artificial-turf surface.

Article 3 asks for a transfer of $450,000 from the Tewksbury Community Preservation Undesignated Fund Balance to assist in construction costs.

State law prohibits the use of Community Preservation funds for synthetic turf, so a separate item proposes financing the playing surface through a $400,000 transfer from the Stabilization Fund.

A measure approved 204-36 at October Special Town Meeting called for $750,000 to be spent on construction of an all-purpose artificial-turf field, but only if the town first won a state grant. In December, the grant application was rejected.

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Other items up at Special Town Meeting include a $331,300 fund transfer package, of which $142,000 would go to veterans' aid; the use of $3,500 from the Sewer Enterprise Fund to pay an outstanding legal bill; the establishment of a self-sufficient revolving fund for energy-efficiency grants and donations; and an update to zoning bylaws exempting assisted-living and elder-care facilities from the requirement that 15 percent of units qualify as affordable.

Scheduled to be voted on over the course of two nights, the Town Meeting warrant focuses primarily on budgetary and zoning matters.

Voters will approve or reject the $88.5 million general-fund budget for fiscal 2014, including $4,146,762 for the Fire Department. The firefighters' union has said the recommended budget will underfund the department, forcing temporary closures of the South Street Fire Station.

The substation remained open this year because of action at last May's Town Meeting, when resident Warren Carey proposed funneling an additional $302,000 into the Fire Department's salary budget instead of using the free cash to pay off some of the town's equipment leases.

Other budget-related articles this year include appropriations of $6,091,199 for the Sewer Enterprise Fund and $5,600,590 for the Water Enterprise Fund; financing the replacement of 25 fire hydrants and upgrades to the Shawsheen Street water main; the re-establishment of a tax-relief program for veterans and seniors; the transfer of $608,345 from the Stabilization Fund for one-time School Department expenditures; and the purchase of a dump truck and pickup truck for the Department of Public Works.

Residents will also take up a temporary moratorium on medical-marijuana dispensaries in all of the town's zoning districts; a feasibility study for the creation of a biking and walking trail; and an increase to licensing fees for dogs that have not been spayed or neutered.

Annual Town Meeting is Monday at 8 p.m. at the TMHS gymnasium, and set to continue at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8 at 8 p.m. Special Town Meeting starts at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, also in the high school gym.

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